Jury Awards Monsanto $1 Billion in Suit against DuPont

Jury found DuPont infringed upon Monsanto's seed technology patent

A federal jury Wednesday awarded $1 billion to Monsanto in a patent-infringement lawsuit the company filed against DuPont regarding Roundup Ready seed technology.

The jury found that DuPont willfully infringed upon Monsanto's patent for glyphosate-resistant seeds, by stacking its own glyphosate-resistant trait into its Optimum GAP soybean seed along with Monsanto's licensed Roundup Ready trait. The 2002 licensing agreement in question stated that DuPont could use Monsanto's Roundup Ready trait, but that DuPont did not have the right to stack the trait. Monsanto filed the suit against DuPont in 2009.